Accommodation centers, which want to obtain certificates, should upgrade the quality of their services.

Secretary of the Iranian Hotel Keepers Society said tourism facilities including hotels and accommodation units, restaurants, as well as sightseeing and entertainment centers, which meet the new standards, will receive certificates.
As reported by Fars news agency, Khosro Iranpour added that one of the primary steps taken by the Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization to promote the industry has been to formulate new standards for tourism facilities.
Winning customer satisfaction is the prime objective behind fixing new standards, he said, adding the quality of services, workforce training, safety and security, equipment and space have been considered.
"Accommodation centers wishing to obtain the certificate should upgrade the quality of their services as much as possible," he proposed.
"The standards have been jointly defined by the ICHTO and the society. Service providers in the sectors will be asked to observe the criteria once they are endorsed by the High Tourism Council."

A view of Kish Island

Tours from Armenia to Kish Island will soon be launched, an Armenian tourism manager said.
Gizel Bandarj, who recently visited Kish Island in the southern Persian Gulf waters, promised she would introduce the great potentials of the resort island to Armenians and help launch Kish tours upon her return.
Expressing satisfaction with the visit of Armenian delegation to Kish Island, Bandarj said Kish possessed remarkable facilities for domestic and foreign tourists.
An increase in foreign investment and a growth in construction in Kish are an indication of proper management, unprecedented in many other resort areas, she added.
Bandarj predicted that the number of Armenian visitors to the island and the volume of commercial transactions would increase in the near future.
Presently, there are four direct flights from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Tehran which is expected to rise.
A delegation of tourism officials from the Republic of Armenia visited the potentials, historic sites, accommodation facilities and shopping malls of the island during their stay in Kish.

This building, now a veritable museum of Persian painting and ceramics, was formerly a pavilion used for the king's entertainment and receptions.
It stands inside a vast royal park, and was built by Shah Abbas II round an earlier building erected by Shah Abbas I. An inscription indicates that the decoration and frescoes were finished in 1647. Only two large historical frescoes date from the later period of the Zand Dynasty. Unfortunately, the Chehel Sotoun has been badly damaged since then, especially when the Afghans occupied the town and covered the paintings with a thick coat of whitewash. It is now being restored under the aegis of the Institute Italiano Per il Medio Orient.
The pavilion opens onto the gardens by means of an elegant terrace, only a few steps high and supported by slender, delicate wooden pillars. In reality, there were never more than 20 columns, but they were reflected in the park's pool, and so it came to be known as Chehel Sotoun (pavilion with forty columns).
Two rows of waterspouts and fountains in the shape of stone lions at the four corners carried water to the huge, elegant rectangular basin.
The terrace is a marvel of elegance. The slender pillars support a light wooden ceiling with wide fretwork louvers. Here we should note the influence of Eastern Asian architecture. Part of the sumptuous decoration has disappeared. We must picture the back wall covered with mirrors, the doors of rare carved wood, and the pillars, each cut from a single lane-tree trunk, with their fine eneer, their brightly colored paintings, their mirrors and studs of colored glass. We still have the remarkable ceiling, its beams, its covering, its painted wood louvers, and its carefully lay-work-rosettes and suns, stars, stylized fruit and foliage.
All the walls used to be decorated with large mirrors and colored pieces of glass and beautiful paintings. Inlaid work was a characteristic of all doors and windows. The pool in front of the building is 110 meters long and 16 meters wide. stone lions have been placed on the four sides of a pond in the center of the hall from whose open mouths water streams down. And finally the unique ceiling of the 18 column portico and the mirror work on the ceiling of the hall are eyecatching.

East Azerbaijan enjoys a lot of natural/tourism attractions and is placed among the three top Iranian cities in terms of its natural/historical attractions.
Deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization for educational affairs, Morteza Ahmadi, said as per the 20-year perspective drawn up for tourism, the industry is predicted to generate an annual revenue of $25 billion.
"In order to achieve that, the sector should grow an annual 30 percent during the fourth development plan (2005-2010)," he mentioned.
Speaking at a tourism conference in Tabriz, East Azarbaijan, Ahmadi added the number of tourists visiting the country would reach 20 million in the 20-year perspective. "Hence, Iran will absorb 1 percent of the global sightseers and 1.5 percent of tourism revenues," he stated.
"Some 300,000 billion rials worth of investment will have to be made in the sector, of which 50,000 billion rials will be provided by the ICHTO."
According to Ahmadi, tourism has provided more than 200 million people around the world with jobs, which is going to hit 300 million in 10 years increasing the present global revenues of $500 billion to $700 billion.
Ahmadi underlined the importance of training in tourism and went on, "Currently, some 50,000 are working in tourism-related sectors, of whom 5,300 persons have passed short-term courses offered by ICHTO. The figure will reach 8,000 by the yearend (March 2005)."
Tourism is the world's top money-spinning business after oil and auto industries.
Meanwhile, head of the state-owned German Tourism Center hailed Iran's great tourism potentials.
Talking to IRNA on the sidelines of the event, Juachim Schultz said despite the reluctance of Europeans to travel to Iran, the country's enormous capacities along with its unique cultural/historic monuments have helped develop the industry.
He said a large number of Germans were interested in visiting the historic monuments and sightseeing places of Iran--a goal that could be attained through boosting interaction between the countries' tourism sectors.
Schultz termed holding joint conferences, examining the strategies to draw sightseers as well as exchanging correspondents to compile detailed reports on mutual attractions as strategies to boost the industry.
Officials and experts from Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) and managers of tourism and traveling agencies participated in the conference to be updated on global experiences and achievements.

Birds have started migrating to the wetlands in Gilan province.

Director general of Gilan Department of Environment said up to 10,000 local people and government employees would visit the protected environmental zones in the province free of charge this year (to end March 2005).
Shabanali Nezami believes that such programs will help modify the public attitude and treatment toward nature and living creatures, ISNA reported.
Pointing to the comprehensive tourism development plan sketched for the province, he said regions with the capability of drawing tourists have been spotted.
He pointed out that birds have started migrating to the wetlands and protected areas in the province, expressing provincial preparedness to host sightseers at these sites. "There has been a 10-percent growth in the number of visitors to these sites compared to the past," he stated.
Referring to hunting tourism, Nezami said that wildlife hunting would be possible provided it does not jeopardize the natural resources.
"Permits can be issued for hunting species which are large in number. By issuing hunting permits for birds which are in excess supply, we can attract more people to the area," he proposed.
"A few years ago, about 1,000 permits were issued for hunting a migratory species, which helped generate a considerable number of jobs for locals."

Erfan-e Sharq Exhibition Trading Company will represent Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization at Spain's 25th International Fitur Tourism Exhibition, ILNA reported.
This year's expo, which is the 25th of its kind, will be held in a more splendid style compared to the previous years.
Iran's tourism potentials will be featured in a pavilion extended over 400 square meters with its decoration inspired by traditional Iranian and Islamic designs. The pavilion is one of the best in the Juan Carlos International Exhibition.
More than 170 countries will participate in the exhibition. Nearly 45 Iranian organizations active in tourism will be present at the event.
Spain's International Fitur Tourism Exhibition will be held on January 26-30.

The western Philippine province of Palawan prides itself on being the country's last natural frontier, with low levels of pollution, beautiful seas and beaches, and untouched wildlife reserves, AFP reported.
But to support such an idyllic lifestyle, the province composed of the main island of Palawan and some 1,780 smaller islets is banking on tourism--even if it means forfeiting Palawan's image of rustic isolation.
The 14,896-square-kilometer province has strict environmental regulations and the capital Puerto Princesa has an ordinance banning "destructive development."
"I made a commitment not to have destructive development," says mayor Edgardo Hagedorn. "That's in line with our focus on sustainable development--no factories, no mining, no logging."
Palawan concentrates on tourism, agriculture and fisheries for its income and the province has much to offer tourists, both foreign and local, from the richest to those from the lower-middle class.
The wealthy and powerful, including Hollywood stars like Mariah Carey, Robert De Niro and Naomi Campbell, stay at exclusive, well-secured Palawan islands, accessible mostly through charter planes.
More modest tour groups visit the famed crocodile farm, a village populated by Vietnamese boat people and a national park with an awe-inspiring underground river.
Palawan has diverse flora and fauna, hot springs and waterfalls that have yet to be fully tapped for tourism. A marine sanctuary covering a giant coral reef and an island reserve stocked with African animals are also underutilized, says Janice Espina of 1700 Islands Travel and Tours.
It is largely spared the brunt of the numerous typhoons and storms that hit the Philippines each year.
But the province's isolation makes Palawan's best attractions difficult to reach. Many of the best beaches, resorts, dive spots and tourist sites can be visited only by lengthy road or boat trips.
Espina says the visitors may be intimidated by the rough roads and modest accommodations.
Nightlife is subdued and even the capital Puerto Princesa has the atmosphere of a sleepy town.
There is a shortage of luxury hotel rooms and many parts of the island suffer from irregular electrical supply. Upper-class resorts install their own generators.
Tourism in Palawan suffered a major blow in May 2001 when the Abu Sayyaf, a kidnapping gang allegedly linked to the Al-Qaeda terror network, abducted 20 people, including three American tourists, from an island resort off Puerto Princesa. Two of the Americans died in Abu Sayyaf captivity, an incident which still casts a pall over tourism to the area.
Figures from the provincial tourism office show that the number of domestic and international visitors fell 8 percent to 117,516 in 2001 compared to the previous year. Visitor arrivals fell a further 3 percent to 113,829 in 2002.
Foreign arrivals were hardest hit. From 31,772 overseas visitors in 2000, the number fell to 30,808 in 2001 and dropped to 20,555 in 2002.

People ice skate on a rink set up on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (AFP Photo)

A skating rink with a bird's-eye view of Paris was opened 57 meters up the Eiffel Tower, offering a free but chilly thrill for visitors to France's most famous monument, AFP reported.
The rink, constructed on the first platform of the 324-meter tall Paris landmark, was inaugurated by French world skating silver medallists Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis.
It is hoped that the high-rise skating rink will attract more locals to the tower which is overwhelmingly visited by overseas tourists.
Deputy Paris mayor Jean-Bernard Bros, in charge of the body overseeing use of the tower, said the installation was also hoped to boost interest in Paris's candidacy for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe is also responsible for the capital's summer attraction 'Paris Plage', a man-made beach on the bank of the river Seine.
The winter rink can hold 80 skaters at a time who can enjoy projected lighting effects as well as the birds'-eye view.
Visitors to the Eiffel Tower will be able to use the 200-square-meter rink for free, including skates, every day from 9:30 am to 11:00 pm until January 23.
The Eiffel Tower, which welcomes some six million visitors a year, is 324 meters high.

Zayandeh riverbanks in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province are ideal locations for tourism hamlets. (IRNA Photo)